Snow blankets Inland valleys, foothills Wednesday morning

By Reginald Stanley. Posted December 31, 2014, 3:41 PM.

The snow queen paid a rare visit to Inland residents on early New Years Eve, with the snow levels falling down to 1,300 feet, and down to 1,000 feet in southwestern Riverside County. This was the first widespread snow event for the region in a decade.

Temperatures plummeted late Tuesday night, the result of a scheduled Offshore Wind event interacting with a cold Gulf of Alaska storm. According to reports, snow began falling in Wildomar at roughly 11 PM Tuesday night, and spread south to Murrieta after midnight. This later spread to parts of Lake Elsinore, Temecula and Wine Country after 3 AM. Snow also fell in Hemet, San Jacinto, Moreno Valley, the Temescal Valley and Riverside (Canyon Crest) early Wednesday morning. WeatherCurrents stations in Beaumont (Cherry Valley) and Anza also reported snow accumulation overnight, being at much higher elevations.

Most of the snow below 2,000 feet had melted by Wednesday afternoon. Numerous local foothill and mountain roads remained closed or impassible Wednesday. If you have any photos of this morning's snow event, please send them!